cooking, keertan, happiness.

Tag Archives: cashew

That’s right, these muffins are full of awesome. And full of other stuff too. Whatever I had in the pantry, to be precise. They’re based on my favorite banana bread recipe. I was reading through the comments and so many of the suggestions sounded great, I used a couple of them, and added my own touch as well. I added a streusel topping because I love that little bit of sugary crunchy goodness. The original recipe is for bread, and this recipe can also be baked in a 4×8 loaf pan or an 8″ round pan, if you’d prefer a cake. I like muffins because they’re exactly one serving size and they’re portable. We take them as snacks when we’re travelling.
“Full of awesome” is a catchy phrase I picked up from my favorite girl-power blog and entrepreneur- Pigtail Pals – Redefine Girly. It’s all about how kids so easily choose to be full of awesome, letting their light shine. And about how we sometimes lose it when we grow up. And so I’ve decided to take back my awesome, in every little way possible. As a woman, as a mom, as a cook, as a singhnee. I’m taking back my awesome, and I’m sharing it with you.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix melted butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, yogurt, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda, salt, and cardamom over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour, stir well, but don’t over mix. Stir in the coconut, raisins, and nuts last. Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin pan (use paper liners for less mess). To make the topping, mix all the ingredients in a food processor until it’s crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the muffin batter. Bake for 30 minutes. If you’re making bread, bake for one hour. Cake will be about 45 minutes (but keep an eye on it). Cool on a rack.

Cookies! Specifically, oatmeal raisin cookies with graham flour. Because that way I can trick myself into believing they’re moderately healthy, even though in reality they’re full of buttery, sugary goodness.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat Earth Balance until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in flax seed/water mixture. Add vanilla. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts. Stir in oats last. Spoon out dough by large tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets (I line them with parchment paper, it makes cleanup easier), leaving at least two inches between each cookie. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheet, then carefully move them to a wire rack, using a spatula. They’re really soft until they cool completely. After they cool, store tightly covered.